First car- some help please

[rragu]

Dear all,
I am 28 yrs old and only recently passed my driving test. Im pleased and relieved, and now want to hit the road and start driving. I am thinking about buying a used car with following specifications. I have never driven before, so am a new driver with no 'no claims' benefit. Am sure, insurance will be sky high. Any advice on the possible options is welcome.

Budget : </= &#163;3000 (excluding insurance / tax )
5 door, saloon/hatchback, 5 seater, air con and cd player desirable, preferably 2000 or later, but earlier will do. Like ford focus and mondeo, but for a first car, open to any reliable and economical car. Hope to use it for a couple of years and then upgrade for a newer one. Also, please suggest best places to look for these. I am asking around, but it really feels like a herculean task for me. Thanks in advance.

[staffsMike]

I use www.autotrader.co.uk to get a feel for prices. Given your age a sensible car should mean you get a pretty cheap (for a new driver) insurance.

I'd probably stick with the ford focus idea to be honest. Something like a 1.6 ghia would probably have all the things you want on it.

[Guy]

Autotrader will be your best bet.

Just had a quick look and you could get something along the lines of a W reg focus 1.6 Zetec which has all the toys you want, with a millege of 65k

Interestingly when I searched for a focus in your price range, there are alot more 1.8's on there!

[digit]

I picked up myself for near enough to &#163;2,000 a 99 Ford Mondeo 1.8 Zetec Hatchback with Air Con and its about &#163;800 full comp on insurance for me and I'm 20 with 1 accident. So i'd really not worry to much about insurance in your position to be honest. I'd go with a Focus I think over a mondeo you can't really go wrong and they are very nice to drive! Best to start with a smallish car then get a bigger car when you have a better experience of driving.

[herulach]

Id say mondeo sized over focus sized, they depreciate harder, so are better value, and by that price theyve lost most of their money.

[Lowe]

2.0l Mondeo - nice and cheap, reliable and a pretty good drive to boot

[kalniel]

Insurance won't be that bad - age counts for a lot. I agree with Mondeo as a top choice - they'll be a bit scruffy too which is excellent for a first car because you *will* scratch it at some point. Mk4 Astra is also good for your budget if you want something a little bit smaller/nippier/economic (but still a decent sized 5 door/seater).

[Vimeous]

Mondeo for size, Focus for enjoyment.
As a new driver you'll be just beginning to learn the extents of your car and you don't want anything your uncertain of parking. Of the two I'd choose the Focus because it takes up less road-space, giving you a larger margin for error, is more than big enough and will be cheaper to repair and run because it's the lighter, smaller car.

I'd always choose the hatchback for practicallity. However the saloons depreciate more as there is less demand in the UK meaning you'll get newer or lower mileage for your cash.

[digit]

The saloons in both the focus and mondeo are really nasty. Don't be tempted at all by them!! I'd still stick with what I said and get a focus, hell i'd have got one if I had the money to! I struggle a bit to be honest parking my mondeo in the street if I have to do a parallel park. But other then that you just have to allow for its size, so not turning as soon into corners, being a bit more careful about the width of it. Yoy may get on fine with a fairly big car, but I think you'd be better in the smaller and just as good focus! If you decide on either don't bother with a spec lower then zetec, you won't in a lot of cases get alloys. This may have changed on mark 3's but I doubt you'd get a good one for your money. Ghia spec is very nice indeed, but can be quite expensive.

[Vimeous]

The saloons in both the focus and mondeo are really nasty. Don't be tempted at all by them!!

I agree styling wise and it can make them a pain to sell on unless it's a really good price. However if you don't mind the looks it it's a great way to get your hands on a newer or better condition car for the same cash.
Although it matters little in this case it's worth mentioning saloons tend to be more rigid than hatches and should give marginally better ride and handling as a result.

I just want to point out most of us aren't Ford sycophants, it just happens that the specs you'd like rragu fit very well into these particular cars.

Have a look at the Car-by-Car Breakdown at www.honestjohn.co.uk to get an idea of what issues may possibly arise from your choice of car. The "What to look for" section on each is car is very useful. Do not be scared by the stories of reliability issues in the reviews. All manufacturers make decent cars, it just varies as to what percentage experience issues.

I've been trying to think of alternatives to Ford and have struggled for various reasons (reliability, cost etc). However below are a few ideas to look for based on price, insurance and value (listed by: Car/Engine/Insurance/Year/Expected Mileage)

£3k Hatch:
Ford Focus 1.6/1.8 petrol IG 5-7 1998-2000 70-100k miles (Fun Factor)
Mazda 323 1.6 petrol / 2.0TD IG 6-7 1999-2001 60-80k miles (Quality & Reliability)
Vauxhall Astra 1.6 petrol / 1.7TDi IG 4-6 1999-2001 40-70k miles (Value & All-round Ability)

£3k Executive/Family:
Ford Mondeo 1.8 LX/Zetec petrol IG 8 2002 70-90k miles (Fun Factor, Large & Modern)
Honda Accord 1.8 S/SE petrol IG 8-9 1999-2000 70-90k miles (Quality & Reliabilty)

[kalniel]

The Astra should be DTI - avoid the TD, not sure a TDi ever existed. The DTI is a 16v isuzu lump that's highly rated

[Howard]

The Astra should be DTI - avoid the TD, not sure a TDi ever existed. The DTI is a 16v isuzu lump that's highly rated

TDI, DTI, same acronyms, different arrangement probably Heh

[Vimeous]

The Astra should be DTI - avoid the TD, not sure a TDi ever existed. The DTI is a 16v isuzu lump that's highly rated

My appologies after checking you are correct it should be DTi.
The TD is slower, less powerful and drinks more fuel so yes I'd avoid it

[rragu]

Thank you all of you for your advice. I appreciate it.